Broccoli Sprouts health benefits include promoting cardiovascular health, fighting inflammation, preventing autism, promoting digestive health, preventing cancer, managing diabetes, enhancing the skin, promoting brain health, good for respiratory system, preventing premature aging, and support overall body health.
What is Broccoli Sprouts?
Broccoli sprouts are a tiny wonder of nature that packs a huge punch. These small alfalfa sprout look-alike can fend off and reverse serious diseases.
They taste like radishes, and you can eat them with anything, as a matter of fact, many people use them as snacks. Unfortunately, you cannot find them as easily as fully mature broccoli, but on the bright side, you can grow them yourself, from the comfort of your kitchen.
How to Grow Broccoli Sprouts
To grow broccoli sprouts, all you need is a wide mouth quart jar, two tablespoons of broccoli seeds some water and patience. Put the seeds in the jar and add a few inches of filtered water to it.
Put the lid on and store the jar in a dark and dry place, like a kitchen cabinet. Wait for twelve hours and drain all the water out.
Once you have drained out all the water, rinse the seeds with fresh water. Store the jar back in your dark, dry place and repeat the process two or three times a day.
After a few days, the seeds will have yellow sprouts growing out of them and will be an inch long. That’s the time when you should bring the jar out into the light.
Keep rinsing them like you used to, and within a week you will have your broccoli sprouts, ready to eat. You can garnish your food with it or add them to your burgers, use them however you want and enjoy the benefits.
Nutrition Facts
For a single 3-ounce serving of Broccoli sprouts
- Calories 35
- Carbohydrates 5 gm
- Protein 2 gm
- Fiber 4 gm
- Sodium 25 mg
- Vitamin A 10%
- Vitamin C 60%
- Calcium 6%
- Iron 4%
Percentages are based on a 2000-calorie diet
11 Proven Benefits of Broccoli Sprouts
1. Promotes Cardiovascular Health
According to studies, broccoli sprouts can lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels in our body. What this means is that you can keep stroke and various other heart diseases at bay by making these sprouts a part of your diet.
In another study conducted on lad rats, it became evident that the substance Glucoraphanin led to lowered blood pressure in lab rats.
2. Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammation may be the cause of numerous diseases. In theory, we can effectively avoid them by reversing inflammation in our body.
Glucoraphanin is an antioxidant that not only helps lower blood pressure and improves heart health but also fights against inflammation, boosts the immune system against oxidative stress. This antioxidant, along with other nutrients in broccoli sprouts, fights cell damage and promote overall health.
3. Prevent Autism
Pregnant women are encouraged to include broccoli sprouts in their diet as it promotes a healthy brain. It makes sure that the fetal brain develops healthily.
Many studies that focused on the relationship between prevention of autism and broccoli sprouts have found that it is all due to the sprout’s antioxidant activity. It is not just good for healthy brain development in fetuses but also small children.
4. Promote Digestive Health
Many people in the US suffer from gastrointestinal issues; these may include anything from mild bloating to extreme abdominal pain. In all these cases broccoli sprouts have been found to be helpful. The sprouts are very good at helping the digestive system along with preventing dangerous bacteria from accumulating.
They fight off bacteria such as H. pylori and defend the stomach’s immune system. By including them in your regular diet, you can avoid constipation and even prevent ulcers and colorectal cancer.
5. Prevent Cancer
It has come to light that broccoli sprouts can help fight various forms of cancer. These include breast, throat, prostate, colon, and bladder and skin cancer. They have a unique way of fighting off cancer. Broccoli sprouts are rich in sulforaphane.
In the first phase the enzymes of the element promote pro-carcinogen growth, and in the second phase, the same enzymes fight against carcinogens and even rid the body of other dangerous compounds. An interesting fact about broccoli sprouts is that they may have the ability to delete parts of the genetic codes that may lead to cancer.
It also contains Nrf2. When researchers gave this substance to mice along with sulforaphane, they found that they could fight off cancer faster than those deficient in Nrf2.
6. Manage Diabetes
Broccoli sprouts are very beneficial for people with type II diabetes. Not only do they help in regulating their blood sugar levels but can also aid in dealing with diabetic neuropathy.
These magical sprouts can bring down insulin resistance, triglycerides, and oxidative stress, along with CRP, which is a protein that assists growth on infections.
7. Good for Your Skin
Broccoli sprouts pack plenty of vitamin C. A single serving consists as much as 60 percent of the nutrient. Vitamin C doesn’t just protect your skin from the sun but also prevents early aging. It was evident in a study conducted on more than 4000 women. The results showed that women who were deficient in vitamin C had more wrinkles than those weren’t.
8. Good for Your Brain
Broccoli sprouts can protect you from serious memory loss diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. They have a lot of iron in them which is responsible for aiding in supplying oxygen to your blood.
This way, it doesn’t just help your brain but also the rest of your organs by creating pathways for oxygen to travel to them. It became clear in a study that people who were deficient in iron also had problems with their memory and concentration.
As our brain uses 20% of the oxygen in our blood, it is important to make sure that we are not deficient in Iron.
9. Good for Respiratory System
In a study published in “Clinical Immunology” in 2009, the researchers found that broccoli sprouts could reduce various problems with our lungs. They do so through sulforaphane, which brings down oxidative stress and inflammation in the air pathways.
t leads to reduced lung-related problems and symptoms of asthma. Journal of Medicine Plant Research published a study which concluded that sulforaphane could potentially fight off respiratory diseases.
10. Prevents Premature Aging
Broccoli sprouts can counter radical activity and oxidative stress due to their powerful anti-oxidizing agents. Through their active compounds along with loads of Vitamin A and C, they can increase elasticity in your skin and slow down aging, which shows up in the form of reduced wrinkles and age spots.
11. Good For Over All Health
It is sad that people discovered the many benefits of Broccoli sprouts so late. These powerful sprouts boost the immune system and strengthen the rest of the body to protect against diseases to the highest degree.
Bottom-line
Broccoli Sprouts are a superfood that you need to have in your diet as much as possible. It can not only fight various diseases but also can prevent them from occurring. But as is with all things do not forget to talk to your healthcare provider before including any food into your diet.